Hussein Hassan Oneissi

Lebanese national and Hezbollah member Hussein Hassan Oneissi is wanted by United Nations and Lebanese authorities for his reported key role in the February 14, 2005 murder of Lebanon Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.Special Tribunal for Lebanon, “Hussein Hassan Oneissi,” April 25, 2012, http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/the-cases/stl-11-01/accused/618-hussein-hassan-oneissi. The bomb attack on Hariri’s motorcade also claimed the lives of 21 and injured more than 220.Owen Bowcott, “Trial of Lebanese broadcaster charged with contempt of court opens in Hague,” Guardian, April 16, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/13/hezbollah-suspect-at-large-journalists-in-dock-at-hague-un-tribunal. Oneisi is being tried in absentia at an international tribunal in The Hague, alongside Hezbollah co-accused Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badr Al-Din, Hassan Merhi, and Assad Sabra.Martin Chulov, “Rafik Hariri assassination: trial of Hezbollah suspects begins, Guardian, January 16, 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/16/rafik-hariri-assassination-trial-hezbollah-suspects. The Lebanese authorities have failed to arrest the five – whether they are unable or unwilling is unclear – and Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has”vowed that the United Nations will never capture them.”Ronen Bergman, “The Hezbollah Connection,” New York Times, February 10, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/the-hezbollah-connection.html?_r=0.

Oneissi and Sabra are accused of recruiting an individual to falsely take responsibility for the crime and for arranging his disappearance.Owen Bowcott, “Trial of Lebanese broadcaster charged with contempt of court opens in Hague,” Guardian, April 16, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/13/hezbollah-suspect-at-large-journalists-in-dock-at-hague-un-tribunal. The individual was later identified as Ahmad Abu Adass.Ronen Bergman, “The Hezbollah Connection,” New York Times, February 10, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/the-hezbollah-connection.html?_r=0. The indictment at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon also alleges that Oneissi and Sabra collaborated directly after the attack to disseminate statements falsely attributing responsibility of the attack. The pair also reportedly ensured the delivery of a video-recorded false claim to Beirut’s Al Jazeera branch and its subsequent broadcast. Oneissi has described himself as either “self-employed or as the bookkeeper for his brother’s carpet store.”Ronen Bergman, “The Hezbollah Connection,” New York Times, February 10, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/the-hezbollah-connection.html?_r=0.

Also Known As

• Hussein Hassan Issa“Hussein Hassan Oneissi,” U.N. Special Tribunal for Lebanon, April 25, 2012, http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/the-cases/stl-11-01/accused/618-hussein-hassan-oneissi.
• Hussein Hassan Unaisi“Hezbollah leader Nasrallah rejects Hariri indictments,” BBC News, July 3, 2011, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14004096.